AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Woodblock of ironing boards that resemble slave ships.

Stowage

by Willie Cole

View this work of art responding to images of slave ships.

Primary Source

A stipple portrait of William Whipper, a Black man, wearing a dark bowtie, vest, and jacket, and a white shirt

A Resolution on Naming

1835

Read William Whipper’s proposal on Black nomenclature at a convention in 1835.

Primary Source

Cover page for Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart.

“Why Sit Ye Here and Die”

1832

Read a speech by Maria W. Stewart, the first Black woman to publish a political manifesto.

Primary Source

Handwritten document in cursive

Dred Scott’s Petition

1846

Read Dred Scott’s plea to be allowed to sue for his freedom in St. Louis.

Primary Source

Sheet music for the song "Steal Away"

“Steal Away to Jesus”

1872

Read the lyrics and listen to this spiritual, popularized by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Primary Source

A wide-mouthed brown earthenware jar with two handles and writing inscribed on the surface.

Storage Jar

1858

View this example of David Drake’s masterful pottery.

Work of Art

A large shallow, round tray shaped basket made of reeds, rush and palmetto coiled and woven together. A faded purple string is woven through the basket on one side and knotted inside the basket.

Rice Fanner Basket

pre-1863

View this artifact of rice cultivation by enslaved people on the South Carolina coast.

Primary Source

A cream quilted bedcover with appliqued red diamonds, circles, and crosses and edges bound with red

Cream and Red Appliqued Quilted Bedcover

ca. 1850

View this work of African American quilting.

Work of Art

A diagram showing bodies packed into a ship's hold

“Stowage of the British slave ship ‘Brookes’”

1788

View this diagram, which served as a catalyst for the antislavery movement.

Primary Source

Front page of the newspaper Freedom's Journal, March 30, 1827

“Our Claims Are on America”

1828

Read this excerpt from an oration by Thomas Jennings on Black identity.

Primary Source

Title page of My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

“Treatment of Slaves on Lloyd’s Plantation”

1855

Read Frederick Douglass’s recollection of plantation life in Maryland from his second autobiography.

Primary Source

A black-and-white photograph of Robert Smalls, a goateed Black man, seated, wearing a dark jacket, bow tie, and vest (with pocket watch chain), and a white shirt.

Beyond the Battlefield: African American Contributions to the Civil War

with Elizabeth R. Varon

Learn more about the men, women, and children who contributed to the war effort through various means.

Video